“Alternative” “youth” radio station Triple J has announced the results of its Hottest 100 survey, which let listeners decide the fate of its annual best songs of the year countdown. As requested by a majority of listeners the date and format of the Hottest 100 will change: no longer falling on Australia Day, the 2018 Hottest 100 (and a new initiative, the Hottest 200) will take place over the weekend of January 27 and January 28. The countdowns will continue to be broadcast on the fourth weekend of January for the foreseeable future.Despite repeated calls by youth activists for the Hottest 100 date to change, Triple J has been slow to align itself with the anti-Australia Day sentiment embraced by many of its regularly played artists, including Indigenous rapper Briggs. In a statement released today, that neutrality remained:“It’s fair to say there’s been increasing debate around 26 January and there are a lot of perspectives on what it means to different Australians. As the public broadcaster representing all Australians, triple j and the ABC doesn’t take a view in the discussions,” the statement reads.But the results of the listener survey, which gathered almost 65, 000 responses, are clear: 60 percent of the station’s audience are in favour of moving the Hottest 100 to a different date. But the change isn’t necessarily permanent—it’s worth noting that January 26 will fall on the fourth weekend of January in 2019.It has always been obvious that the Hottest 100 doesn’t actually align much with a national day of patriotism, given the countdown is typically dominated by international artists. So it’s a nice addition to today’s announcement that Triple J will broadcast an all-Australian playlist from now on.The station has also confirmed it will continue to partner with the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) during the Hottest 100 countdown. Last year’s Hottest 100 raised a quarter of a million dollars for the organisation.Voting for the Hottest 100 opens on December 12.Follow Kat on Twitter
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